Landslide win for Phuket’s Pian Keesin – the Mayor of Patong

PHUKET: Pian Keesin was re-elected to a third consecutive term as Patong Mayor yesterday, with members of his “Rak Patong” party winning 17 of the 18 seats contested to give him an unassailable majority in the new city council.

Turnout for the polling, which ran from 8am to 3pm, was 63.5% of 12,831 eligible voters. There were 217 spoiled ballots and 420 “no votes”.

In the mayoral balloting, unofficial results posted outside Patong City Hall last night showed Mr Pian with 4,352 votes to 3,154 for challenger Kittisan Kuru, a two-time council member and leader of the Patong Gao Na (Patong Progress) party.

Only one of his team members, Chalermsak Maneesri, was able to win a council seat, narrowly beating the only independent candidate for the last available seat in District 1.

Mr Chalermsak served a short term as mayor in 2003 before he was ordered by the Phuket Provincial Court to step down for electoral fraud after charges were levied against him by Mr Pian.

Apart from Mr Chalermsak and his brother Surasak, who is another former mayor ordered to step down on corruption charges, Mr Pian has had a virtual stranglehold on the Patong political scene since the early 1990s.

Yesterday’s win, if ratified by the Election Commission in Bangkok, will mark the start of his fifth term as mayor of the popular tourist town.

Results (all unless otherwise marked):

District 1

Jaroern Khwanyeun (Rak Patong)
Prasarn Noochet (Rak Patong)
Prasit Phatkor (Rak Patong)
Mana Phanchalad (Rak Patong)
Narong Cheuayuan (Rak Patong)
Chalermsak Maneesri (Patong Gao Na)

District 2

Thanin Attasup (Rak Patong)
Wirapot Iabsup (Rak Patong)
Banyat Somnam (Rak Patong)
Prasit Changlek (Rak Patong)
Sawai Sanguanphon (Rak Patong)
Boontaen Piromrit (Rak Patong)

District 3

Manit Yooyen (Rak Patong)
Saichon Sombat (Rak Patong)
Thamanoon Sombat (Rak Patong)
Thanichai Jamjarat (Rak Patong)
Wirawit Kreuasombat (Rak Patong)
Pradit Kongkaew (Rak Patong)

The results must be confirmed by the Election Commission (EC) in Bangkok before the new city council can convene.

Election law dictates that the EC must either validate or reject the election results within 30 days of the election date.

— Kritsada Meuanhawong